The Ten of Cups represents the sphere of materialization on the creative level of human expression. Ten of Cups upright: elegance. Ten of Cups reversed: inelegance.
The Ten of Cups stands for the outcome of the activities of the Creative Tree, like an underdrawing, a design, or a business concept.
A design becomes an objective for the Intellectual Tree below. An objective is more than a wish (Seven of Cups). It defines a concrete, measurable, and time-bound outcome, which becomes the foundation of a plan.
Objectives are intellectual stimulations. Incited by an objective, the faculty of the Ace of Swords (Venture) initiates a series of intellectual activities that take the objective ten steps towards execution. This is where the secondary meanings of great power of realizing desires and strong promise of the satisfaction of desire come from.
The Ten of Cups suggests letting feelings motivate our objectives. Martin Luther King Jr. revealed his inspiring objective in his I-Have-a-Dream speech. The objective of John Lennon’s song Imagine is a united mankind. In both cases, love motivates the objectives. Martin Luther King Jr. acted out of love for black people, and John Lennon composed this song out of love for mankind.
An auspicious Ten of Cups calls for proper designs. Proper designs are holistic, well-defined, and concrete enough for the intellect to work with. This is where the secondary meanings of harmony and alignment come from.
An inauspicious Ten of Cups may indicate that the querent doesn’t want to turn a wish into an objective and keep it a fantasy. This is where the secondary meanings of contentment and complacency come from. Holding back creativity isn’t healthy. Creative desires are meant to be fulfilled and shouldn’t become a matter of and self-gratification.
In romantic matters, the Ten of Cups may signify readiness for commitment. A commitment marks the end of a romance and the beginning of a relationship. A romance takes place on the creative-feely level. We deal with a committed relationship (and the adversity that comes with it) on the intellectual and bodily-practical levels of human expression. Over time, romance fades, and love and friendship emerge.
Ten of Cups Symbolism
The ten cups in the picture form a complete Tree of Life. Hence, the image symbolizes the end result of the activities of the creative spheres and paths.
If you drew a line from the 7th to the 8th sphere, you would get a figure that resembles the Egyptian ankh — also a symbol of life. It combines a circle (spirit or Ch’i) with a horizontal and vertical line (Yin and Yang). This corresponds to the three columns of the Tree of Life.
In numerology, the number 9 signifies completion, and the number 10 signifies harvest, i.e., what we reap upon completing an undertaking. In business, this compares to fulfilling a delivery and getting paid.
Although the number 10 represents results, it also kicks off new beginnings. The number 10 gives us the image of the completion of a cycle (0) and the beginning of a new one (1).
The Five Psychological Core Meanings of the Ten of Cups
We derive the psychological meanings of Tarot cards from their position on the Tree of Life. In the Enlightenment Tarot framework, the Ten of Cups represents Malkuth of Netzach, i.e., materialization on the creative level of human expression.
Every Tarot card represents a faculty or power of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively, which produce either a fortunate or an adverse state of mind. Hence, every Tarot card has five core meanings.
These are the five core meanings of the Ten of Cups:
- Power of consciousness: Design, devising
- Constructive use: Elegance
- Unconstructive use: Inelegance
- Auspicious state of mind: Sense of aesthetics
- Inauspicious state of mind: Unaesthetics
Reflective Questions
If the Ten of Cups appears in your spread, it may be beneficial to ask yourself the following questions:
- What creative desires or ideas are waiting for you to turn them into objectives?
- Which of your current objectives are inspired by love, compassion, or empathy, and which ones are not?
- Are your current objectives clearly defined, measurable, and realistic enough for effective intellectual planning? If not, what needs clarifying?
- If you’re in a romantic relationship, is it ready to move from romance to commitment, friendship, and mutual growth?
- Reflecting on examples like Martin Luther King, Jr. or John Lennon, what objective could you set today that might help the world around you?
Ten of Cups Summary
The Ten of Cups inspires us to transform imaginations into clear, love-driven objectives, which kick off promising intellectual pursuits that can make the world a better place.
Where Do Tarot Card Meanings Actually Come From?
The meanings of Tarot cards come from various sources. The most common are:
- The position of the Tarot cards on the Tree of Life
- Astrological correspondences (signs, planets, & houses)
- The symbolism of Tarot cards
- Intuition
- Meanings that pertain to fortune telling
Most of the Tarot card meanings you can google are astrological correspondences and go back to the Golden Dawn and Arthur Edward Waite. Astrological meanings dominate at present because Astrology is a divination tool and favors fortune telling. But these meanings are unsuitable for (psychological) Tarot readings.
If you are interested in an overview of the astrological correspondences, you can download a high-resolution chart by subscribing to the Enlightenment Tarot.
Tarot card meanings are a bit of a mess since the meanings that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life mingle with astrological correspondences, symbolic interpretations, and fortune-telling connotations. That’s tedious to memorize. Further, tarotists’ opinions, knowledge, and linguistic backgrounds shaped some of these interpretations. Last but not least, many meanings are fuzzy, contradictory, and overlap. If you want to understand why they overlap, read the article How to Deal With the Overlapping Meanings of Tarot cards.
The meanings of the Enlightenment Tarot are based on an objective and holistic framework: the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. The resulting meanings are transparent and logical and, hence, easier to memorize.
What Do Various Tarotists Say about the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Let’s explore what various tarotists wrote about the Ten of Cups.
Tarotists emphasize the astrological significances of Tarot cards since these lend themselves to fortune-telling. The Ten of Cups relates to the third decanate of Pisces, ruled by Jupiter and Neptune and sub-ruled by Scorpio, Mars, and Pluto.
Jupiter has a benevolent influence. Neptune promotes psychism and a sense of connectedness with the world. Scorpio adds a competitive, transformative touch to the mix, and Mars adds drive and activity. These vibes promote keen observations of the environment.
The basic Piscean characteristics are occult, benevolent, and sacrificing. The Scorpio and Mars influences add the following vibes to the mix: vigilant, cordial, and suave.
Pisces rules the 12th house of subconsciousness, aka the house of privacy. The 12th house governs everything that happens in our subconsciousness, like memories, wishes, dreams, hopes, fears, drives, needs, and addictions. Since Pisces is the last of the twelve zodiac signs, this house governs endings and conclusions, too. It is also the house of the things people devote themselves to. Some call this house the house of undoing/ruin. This includes imprisonment — actual incarceration or mental imprisonment by fears, drives, and addictions.
What Paul Foster Case Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
For the Ten of Cups, Paul Foster Case offered the keyword excess. With that, he meant a surplus of creative forces that come into focus in the tenth sphere of the Creative Tree.
Paul suggested that if the Ten of Cups relates to the spiritual level of human expression, it indicates lasting spiritual success due to inspiration from higher levels of consciousness, high psychic development (Pisces), the realization of lofty aspirations (Jupiter), as well as happiness.
If it turns up inauspicious, the Ten of Cups signifies danger from psychism (Pisces) and a probability of being injured mentally through unwise attempts at meditation or things like premature Kundalini awakenings.
Paul suggests that on questions related to the creative, intellectual, and bodily levels, the Ten of Cups signifies trouble — even if it turns up auspiciously. In particular, on the physical level, the combined forces of Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune in Pisces — while they mean tremendous power of desire and sometimes the satisfaction of desire — point to unbalanced forces. The Ten of Cups indicates too much ambition (Mars), oversensitivity (Pisces), and a great power of realizing desires (Mars), but equally great danger from misusing that power. Mind that Pisces and Scorpio are both watery signs, and that combination can lead to imbalance.
However true this may be, this interpretation introduces a sense of fatalism. While this cocktail of forces may indeed be difficult to handle, we should encourage and help querents to deal with this force constellation. For instance, the querent could prepare herself by establishing routines (anchor Jupiter), setting boundaries (anchor Neptune), and formulating benevolent intentions to reign in ambition (Mars).
An inauspicious Ten of Cups may also signify danger of prodigality (inauspicious Jupiter), the possibility of being influenced by others through the desire nature, a tendency to drug abuse (Pisces), over-indulgence (Jupiter), and excess in pleasure (Scorpio).
What Arthur Edward Waite Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Arthur Edward Waite proposed this card signifies contentment, a heart at peace, or the perfection of a state, like the perfection of human love and friendship.
These are great interpretations since the Creative Tree is the tree of feelings, and the Ten of Cups represents the culmination of the activities of the Feely Tree.
According to Arthur, the Ten of Cups may also signify a person taking charge of the querent’s interests, as well as the town, village, or country where the querent lives. This is off since the house of home is the 4th, ruled by Cancer, and the house of friends is the 11th, ruled by Aquarius.
While no astrological association links the Ten of Cups to a physical home, a home is a place we build according to our values and where we cultivate feelings. Further, a family is a creative pursuit. Hence, the Ten of Cups may represent our ideal of a home, which we establish in a physical home.
On the psychological side, the Ten of Cups suggests a false heart, i.e., a tendency toward betrayal or hypocrisy, outrage, or violence (inauspicious Mars).
For a male querent, an auspicious Ten of Cups shall foretell a marriage beyond expectations, and an inauspicious Ten of Cups shall indicate sorrow or a serious quarrel. This pertains to fortune-telling, so no comment.
What Etteilla Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Etteilla, a French occultist and the first known professional tarotist, offers the meanings of home and anger.
Etteilla lived a hundred years before Waite. Hence, Waite may have adapted the notion of home from Etteilla.
Likely, anger pertains to the third Pisces decanate, ruled by Mars and Pluto.
What Papus Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Papus, another French occultist and the founder of the Martinist Order, suggests that this card signifies uncertainty.
As it seems, Papus agrees with Paul in the sense that the cocktail of forces represented by the Ten of Cups is difficult to manage, which introduces uncertainty. This pertains foremost to inner uncertainty, but it can attract external uncertainty.
What Gregor Mather Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Gregor Mather, the founder of the Golden Dawn, also suggested that a Ten of Cups signifies the town wherein one lives (see Waite and Etteilla), as well as honor, esteem, virtue, and reputation (Jupiter), consideration (Pisces), and glory. A sense of glory is an emotional response to successful outcomes (the tenth sphere), however, we are on the creative level. Glory fits the Ten of Pentacles.
Gregor offers the inauspicious meanings of combat, strife, opposition, differences, and dispute, which pertain to an excess of Mars energy. This is a little exaggerated since Mars only sub-rules the respective decanate.
What Mme. Le Marchand Said About the Meanings of the Ten of Cups
Mme. Le Marchand, a 19th century celebrated Parisian fortune teller, thought that the Ten of Cups foretells offspring, betrothal, merry weddings in the family, fortunate family events, joyful news, a great prize, and a rich inheritance.
These meanings pertain to fortune telling, so no comment. But there is a grain of truth here. As mentioned, in romantic matters, the Ten of Cups indicates a readiness for commitment. Also, children are a creative matter and the result of love-making.
The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot
Every Tarot card represents a faculty of consciousness. We can use faculties of consciousness constructively and destructively. This produces favorable and adverse experiences.
We can express faculties of consciousness on four levels:
- The spiritual level (wands/fire/intention)
- The creative-feely level (cups/water/imagination)
- The intellectual level (swords/air/intelligence)
- The bodily level (pentacles/earth/bodily action)
The four tools on the magician’s table symbolize these four levels:
- The wand (spiritual)
- The cup (creative-feely)
- The sword (intellectual)
- The pentagram (bodily)
These tools correspond to the four so-called elements: fire, water, air, and earth.
For this reason, the Enlightenment Tarot wands are made of fire, the cups consist of water, and the pents are composed of earth. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to illustrate something made of air, since air is invisible. For that reason, all swords are made of crystal to show at least transparency.
The Enlightenment Tarot derives its meaning from the Tree of Life and the four levels of human expression. This is an objective, holistic framework that reveals the psychological imports of Tarot cards and their faculties of consciousness. Read more about this framework in the article The Psychological Framework of the Enlightenment Tarot.
The Enlightenment Tarot project attempts to rediscover the original meanings of the Tarot cards that pertain to their position on the Tree of Life. These meanings are simple, clear, and easy to memorize.
*This framework is compatible with Paul Foster Case’s qabalistic system.
Do you want to learn more About The Enlightenment Tarot?
If you want to delve deep into the psychological meanings of Tarot cards, read the book Tarot of Life.
If you are curious about how the Enlightenment Tarot came about, read this article.
If you are interested in learning how to perform psychological Tarot readings, subscribe to receive a free copy of a guide on how to perform psychological Tarot readings.
If you are looking for a psychological Tarot deck, you have come to the right place. The Enlightenment Tarot derives the cards’ meanings from a holistic and transparent framework that is easy to learn and memorize. All major and minor arcana carry psychological titles, and the court cards display psychological profiles. Have a look at the Enlightenment Tarot deck here.
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Delve into the psychological mysteries of the Tarot with the Enlightenment Tarot deck — a contemporary Tarot deck with authentic Tarot symbolism yet immersive illustrations designed for psychological Tarot readings.
Trace your querent’s challenges back to her weaknesses or inner demons. Shadow work made easy.
This exceptional Tarot deck is based on an objective and holistic, psychological framework: the Tree of Life. All minor and major cards feature psychological titles. For example, the Magician has the title ‘Attention’, and the Six of Cups has the title ‘Decision’. The court cards exhibit psychological profiles. For instance, the Queen of Wands stands for a ‘willful woman: generous or stubborn, resolute or revengeful, intense or tyrannical, magnetic or dangerous’.